Visiting Your Loved Ones

When you go see your loved one at a living facility, it is helpful to take a look around and observe the facility generally and the other residences. The elderly or incapacitated often are unaware of how to express any discomfort or dislike with the facility. To the other extreme, they may be complaining about everything when there is really nothing to complain about. The facility will also likely make it seem better than it is because they desire having the occupancy. My rule of thumb is the what I call the eyeball test. What do you see when you look around? Is it clean? Are the residents clean and taken care of? What is the staff doing? These types of simple observations can often provide insight as to whether your loved one is really getting the care they need and deserve.